Has your G-Sync display locked you into the Nvidia EcoSystem?

Has your G-Sync display locked you into the Nvidia EcoSystem?


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Archaea

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I have an Alienware AW3418DW. (34" Ultrawide, 3440x1440, G-Sync, 120Hz, IPS)
I really quite enjoy it. I don't have any intent to swap it out until OLED sizes and costs come down, as I don't think there's that much better a display - even 3 years after this model's launch.

Interestingly my display basically locked me to a Nvidia card this generation, for better or worse. Thus, it won't matter to me what AMD Big Navi does performance/price wise because I can't use FreeSync or VRR and so I'd have to swap displays if I went Big Navi, and that's not something I'm willing to do at this time.

I don't have a particular affinity for G-Sync vs. Freesync. I've used both since 2015. They both work great, but this display's G-Sync has firmly entrenched me into the Nvidia ecosystem at least for this generation. AMD cannot win my money this round no matter what value they offer. I'm only seeking an Nvidia card. (3080 is my intention).

I'm curious how many others find themselves in similar circumstances due to their display?
 
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I hated the idea of getting a monitor that would lock me into a particular video card side (Nividia vs AMD). I waited long enough until Nividia finally had their "G-Sync Compatible" imitative and bought a monitor that can do both freesync and g-sync without issue.
 
When I had only my Acer X34 I'd say YES to your question, I was locked into nvidia ecosystem and think in buying an AMD card was a tough decision to make... but now I've bought a Samsung Odyssey G9 and have both worlds: Gsync compatible and Freesync.

I don't know why but Gsync built in hardware like the one in X34 panel looks like a little better than "just" the Gsync compatible feature in the G9, but these are just my impressions.
 
Are G-Sync displays not able to operate as a Freesync display when using an AMD card?
 
I'd swap out my G-sync display for a compatible if AMD comes out with a killer product.
 
I'm in the exact same boat as you. Same display, which I also very much appreciate. Same goal too: 3080, 10GB. I'm not willing to pay more than MSRP for one though, so it may take a while...

I did not like being locked in with G-Sync when I got that screen, but at the time NVIDIA hadn't made its move with Freesync compatibility. These proprietaries tech from NVIDIA have a negative impact on my feelings towards them. In the future I will be much less incline to buy products that require their proprietaries to avoid being put in exactly this kind of situation.
 
My 38GL950-B has a Gsync module but also supports Freesync.

I'm open to either brand GPU but I've had a good ride with Nvidia.

** it seems like the AMD options are always aimed at price/performance - I usually go with Nvidia because it has been offering the best performance, not just "price : performance".
 
G-synch compatible here too. I like options. Not looking for a graphics processor this round though. I'll wait and see how the chips fall.
 
The newer G-Sync modules now work with both G-Sync and Freesync GPUs. The old G-Sync modules (like the one in the AW3418DW) are still locked in with NVIDIA GPUs only and will not provide VRR on AMD GPUs. I don't know if it would be possible for NVIDIA to easily unlock that capability for the old modules. I have a feeling it would require a firmware updates which would need to be done by the screen manufacturers... doubtful we'll ever see that.
 
your survey is heavy in certain questions and leaves out the ....

I have/will ditch Gsync and get a FreeSync display in stead so I can use both ecosystems.

I sold my Acer x34 Gsync and got a Samsung Odyssey G7 32" because it has FreeSync Premium Pro or whatever it is called. I can now use both ecosystems freely.
 
No, amd sucking for the last 5+ years has kept me locked in, though in fairness there is increasingly a secondary-factor of proprietary as you term it. I need a cuda gpu.

I could have two cards if it came to it (and that would be arguably sensible given the outrageous cost of my monitor), but it is nice having it all solvable on one machine, I’ve been enjoying consolidating down to a single box and screen.
 
I am thinking of going 3080 on my LG free sync it is on the Nvidia approved list of free sync compatible monitors. I am on the EVGA queue and am waiting to see what AMD drops. I figure December at the earliest for both cards to be in stock.
 
Have a nice freesync and a nice G-sync monitor for this reason. Freesync is on workstation, G is on gaming box. If I ever switch to AMD for the gaming box, swap monitors around ~shrug~.
 
Yeah I'm stuck with Nvidia for a while. I really like my Acer Predator and I've only had it a year so I won't be giving it up anytime soon.
 
I don’t have a brand preference, but my current monitor is G-Sync and I’ll be going with Nvidia this time around for that reason. I would have much preferred a Freesync monitor, but the best deal at the time I bought my monitor happened to be G-Sync if you can believe it, and since Nvidia cards have led for the past few generations, I went along with it. I still hate proprietary crap, especially when there is an equivalent open source option.
 
Yes it has...I was just thinking about that the other day...I wanted to wait for Big Navi performance numbers but since I have a G-Sync 1440p 144hz monitor (ViewSonic XG2703-GS IPS) it doesn't matter...unless the raw performance of Big Navi outweighs the benefits of G-Sync?
 
your survey is heavy in certain questions and leaves out the ....

I have/will ditch Gsync and get a FreeSync display in stead so I can use both ecosystems.

I sold my Acer x34 Gsync and got a Samsung Odyssey G7 32" because it has FreeSync Premium Pro or whatever it is called. I can now use both ecosystems freely.
That’s what this option is.
 

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That's a loaded question. I voted for considering Nvidia mostly due to owning a g-sync monitor (ViewSonic XG2703-GS). I bought my monitor before the wave of the newer ones came out that can do both gsync - free sync depending on your video card. I think the problem for most ppl is that a new monitor is a large cost purchase and it's likely to stick around for a good while unless it fails, or it's not decent, or something else come's out that blows it out of the water at a good price cough "small cheap good OLED". It's unlikely to be in a position where both the video card and monitor fail at the same time, that would put you in a position where you can swing either way. When I bought my monitor the benefit of going with g-sync was that for the most part the monitors had a higher standard than the free sync stuff, the market was over-saturated with crappy free-sync and that's probably why some got a bad rap.

Let's say AMD comes out with a video card that exceeds Nvidia. Is it cheaper to get that and a new monitor over replacing just the card?
Is free-sync current implementation as good as the hardware implemented chipset on the monitor that have g-sync?
Is AMD price benefit disappearing? Some of their new stuff is getting expensive, I wouldn't blame them since NVidia was left unchecked for a long time, and the low, mid end and high end got pushed up in pricing. I think AMD doesn't care as much for the pro-sumer grade stuff as ppl think, they been pushing harder at the lower end cards that can do a smooth affordable option for MOBAS, and other lower demanding, higher volume genres games, 1080P.

Would the real question be are people more likely to move to AMD in the future because they can't even source a card to upgrade from NVIDIA in the first place? The scarcity problem and the scalpers is getting ridiculous, I think that might be a legitimate reason to switch if they can deliver the performance, Nvidia somewhat decided that they can't or don't want to deal with the bot problem, so they are letting BestBuy deal with the distribution of their FE cards. Doesn't help that Nvidia thinks the stock problem won't be sorted till 2021.
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-ceo-geforce-rtx-3080-and-3090-shortages-to-last-until-2021
Only benefit might be that the later cards might be able to get a more sizeable memory option on their cards if there's enough pressure from AMD.
 
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My 65" LG CX supports Freesync and G-Sync suckers, I'm not locked into jack shit! WOOOO!
Technically, it supports Freesync and HDMI Forum VRR; it doesn't support Gsync as it doesn't have the Gsync module, that's why it's "Gsync Compatible", as well as why NVIDIA had to backport HDMI Forum VRR into HDMI 2.0 a few months back.

Essentially, I expect everyone to jump on the HDMI Forum VRR bandwagon at this point, since it's essentially Gsync minus the cost of a dedicated HW module.

As for the poll: I only purchase NVIDIA. I went AMD once, and had nothing but driver problems and the HW itself died after 9 months. Won't touch their products again.
 
I use Gsync compatibility mode on my Freesync monitor, works great. Have tested it with Pendulum & UFO test.
 
Yes. I just don't have the money to swap monitors, especially with the high cost of GPUs currently.

Obviously this is working as Nvidia planned.
 
Same monitor as you (and the same praise for it) here.

A short while ago I was only considering Green for G Sync but I've been considering selling it for something else for the last 2-3 weeks. Been longing for a CX (actually a C9 before that) and this situation could, potentially, push me to it. Plan was to use both monitors, but truth is I can live with a single 4K/Ultrawide and get by. Always have the laptop if I realllllly need the extra screen (as I call it, portable TV).

I'd rather have a 3080 and both displays.
 
Remembered a few more proprietary nvidia functions, CUDA, Shadowplay/Share, Ansel, SLI, TXAA, HBAO etc.
These in addition to to the ones previously mentioned in the poll.
Physix, Hairworks, Faceworks, RTX, DLSS, RTX Voice, etc.

Really one can at face value dislike the proprietary features that lock to one vendor discouraging full spectrum enthusiast use (Nvidia hairworks is a fine example of this type of artificial lockdown shenanigan (remember in Witcher 3 where initially only Nvidia supported hairworks, but someone figured out how to hack the feature so AMD cards could run Hairworks and it actually ran faster on AMD cards — without any optimization)), but frankly only Nvidia is regularly innovating new features that improve our gameplay experience.
Thus any frustration with Nvidia’s proprietary improvements is misplaced — because really only one team is pushing the ball forward time after time.

AMD just copies Nvidia’s best proprietary features. Where is AMD’s own new feature innovation?
The only two I can think of off the top of my head is 1) AMD Mantle which turned into Vulcan as it was picked up by open source devs and 2) AMD was the first to allow mixed monitor rotation in triple screen gaming. (Meaning you could run different resolution monitors in mixed orientation allowing for the kingpin monitor setup at the time of release with the AMD 285 GPU for widescreen triple screen gaming 20”, 30”, 20” monitor setup in Portriat, Landscape, Portrait. (900x1600, 2560x1600, 900x1600)). This is a very niche usecase, but I loved it, and I don’t think nvidia has ever implemented PLP support to this day.

I’m probably missing a few proprietary features from both sides. But it does seem lopsided that Nvidia innovates nearly all of the new features. That shouldn’t generate dislike, (innovation benefits customers) but we can see from the poll it does leave a bad taste in the mouth for some enthusiasts.
 
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I only buy Nvidia because I have an X27. Might consider a freesync display next time around though.
 
My TV doesn’t currently support it, which is where I play single player/immersive games so I just set up the settings so it rarely/never dips below 60 and use vsync. Works perfectly fine. My other monitor is 1080P 144Hz, and I just set it to frame cap at 140 without any sort of sync and make sure the FPS stay in the 120-140 area. Was never really impressed with gsync since it seemed to have issues with me alt-tabbing and some other problems. I haven’t noticed tearing either.
Most Gsync monitors also aren’t the best while costing the most, so I never saw a reason to get one.
 
I was looking into going to a 4K 120Hz display G-Sync compatible display anyway. So no, I don't feel locked into it going into the next generation. I've certainly felt that way at times, but AMD hasn't had anything competitive enough for me to consider them in years.
 
I've been nvidia only since around when they first released gsync. It was one of the best early adopter techs I've ever bought. Sadly that display is seemingly on its way out so I'm open to anything right now, waiting to see what AMD releases and decide which display to buy.
 
I don't have a G-Sync display, but if I did I would happily get an AMD card even being incompatible with the tech, if it performed better.

I don't have a f-sync display either, and I don't play twitch shooters, so maybe I'm a bit biased. Okay, I'm definitely a bit biased. Fixed refresh for lyfe! D:
 
I refuse to be locked into an ecosystem. Nvidia, between GPP and G-sync, has shown me that they would love to enslave me to their products. Therefore (see sig) all AMD gpus. (Well, except for that GTX 670. ;) )

My monitors are all freesync or otherwise adaptive sync agnostic. Will I buy another Nvidia card? Maybe. Let's see what AMD's Radeon 6000 brings.

Currently, looking to add an LG-27GL850 or 27GN850 to the party.
 
I refuse to be locked into an ecosystem. Nvidia, between GPP and G-sync, has shown me that they would love to enslave me to their products. Therefore (see sig) all AMD gpus. (Well, except for that GTX 670. ;) )

My monitors are all freesync or otherwise adaptive sync agnostic. Will I buy another Nvidia card? Maybe. Let's see what AMD's Radeon 6000 brings.

Currently, looking to add an LG-27GL850 or 27GN850 to the party.

I'm curious about the RX 6000. Initially, I felt as though it would probably slot somewhere close to a RTX 3070, but I'm starting to think Big Navi may surprise us. If some rumors are true anyway.
 
No monitor is going to make me decide which GPU I buy, screw that and screw nVidia for trying. I listed my Gsync monitor literally the day it was announced most Freesync monitors would support nVidia cards for adaptive sync. Both the monitors I now own work perfectly with both Freesync and Gsync.
 
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I have an Alienware AW3418DW. (34" Ultrawide, 3440x1440, G-Sync, 120Hz, IPS)
I really quite enjoy it. I don't have any intent to swap it out until OLED sizes and costs come down, as I don't think there's that much better a display - even 3 years after this model's launch.

Interestingly my display basically locked me to a Nvidia card this generation, for better or worse. Thus, it won't matter to me what AMD Big Navi does performance/price wise because I can't use FreeSync or VRR and so I'd have to swap displays if I went Big Navi, and that's not something I'm willing to do at this time.

I don't have a particular affinity for G-Sync vs. Freesync. I've used both since 2015. They both work great, but this display's G-Sync has firmly entrenched me into the Nvidia ecosystem at least for this generation. AMD cannot win my money this round no matter what value they offer. I'm only seeking an Nvidia card. (3080 is my intention).

I'm curious how many others find themselves in similar circumstances due to their display?
I have that same display, bought it in December 2018 and loved it. It is now on my floor unused as I moved to the LG CX48. When I bought it NVIDIA was so far ahead in the top of the line segment that I did not mind as I figured that would be the case for awhile. I really like the LG and plan to keep it awhile and will go with either Big NAVI or a 3080 if I can ever get one. I may just stick with my current card and see if a 20GB 3080 comes out as I think that would be a nice card to have.
 
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